So many books, so little time to catalogue them! We’re continuing to keep on top of our growing pile of new titles by presenting this new one, Essence of Gung Li Chuan, from the team that produced Essence of Lien Bu Chuan. Gung Li Chuan means flowing strength, and you might still hear this form […]
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Plum Staff
who has written 934 posts for KaiMen.
Oct
5
2024
5
2024
Sep
21
2024
21
2024
Sifu Donald Hamby’s New Book: Tiger and Crane Two Person Sparring Set
Sifu Don Hamby, longtime practitioner and teacher of Lam Family Hung Gar, and direct student of Sifu Lam Chun Fai, has published his first book (and he chose Plum to publish it)! This exceptional book offers history, lineage, foundations and full color, step-by-step instruction for this treasured […]
Jun
17
2024
17
2024
A Rare Weapon and Its Mates
Sifu Paul Koh has added a new volume to his series on Black Tiger Claw Kung Fu, this one on the Tiger Fork. Honestly, we’d be surprised to learn that there were even 3 other books in English on this uncommon weapon, and none that match the look of this one. Although this new text […]
Apr
27
2024
27
2024
Adam Hsu’s Baji Xinfa Available Again!
Exceptionally good news! We have gotten in some more copies of Adam Hsu’s book, Baji Xinfa: Traditional Bajiquan, Modern Training Method. This is one of the few authentic books on Bajiquan, and it contains a good selection of QR Codes for online access to Hsu Sifu performing Bajiquan. We had been told it was out […]
Apr
14
2024
14
2024
Tiger Tail Three Section Staff
Oh boy! This is a great new book from Sifu Paul Koh, this time on Black Tiger Claw’s Three Sectional Staff. Books on the ‘soft weapons’ are not that common, and books with this presentation value are even rarer still. In what is becoming almost a trademark, Sifu Koh has once again made a book […]
Feb
22
2024
22
2024
Grand Master Johnny Lee and My Jhong Law Horn (Mizong Lohan)
Sifu Doug Opbroek, author of the recent book, “Footsteps of the Masters: Following in the Path of My Jhong Law Horn,” sent us this nice article about his teacher, GM Johnny Lee, just published in a local Shreveport, LA newsmagazine. Sifu Opbroek’s book records the cultural context, folklore and oral tradition of the kung fu […]
Feb
12
2024
12
2024
Sun Xikun’s Authentic Transmission of Baguazhang
Well, well, well. Here we were just praising Chen Faxing’s translation into English of The Subtlety of Xingyi Boxing, when he delivers to us another important translation. Sun Xikun’s Authentic Transmission of Baguazhang, now translated into English, is another significant volume in the martial canon. His detailed insights into Baguazhang, along with Xingyiquan and Taijiquan […]
Feb
7
2024
7
2024
Second Look: The Subtlety of Xingyi Boxing
You’ve heard us say this before, but we get so many interesting books to review at Plum, we don’t always have the time we’d like to really get into and thoroughly read each volume before cataloguing and posting. But sometimes, in what we laughingly refer to as our ‘spare time,’ a specific book or dvd […]
Dec
21
2023
21
2023
My Jhong Law Horn: Douglas Opbroek’s New Book on a Different Branch of Mizong
A little while back, we received a new book to review, accompanied by a nice note from Sifu Douglas Opbroek, which read in part: “…As I have scrolled through your site and others over the years, I have yet to find a book or video on the combined system of the Yip family of Mizong […]
Dec
19
2023
19
2023
The Shipping News
Some of you may have noticed that we have adjusted our shipping options a bit over the last few months. We wanted to try them out before announcing the changes, but we are confident that these are now working well. Domestic Customers: The post office has removed First Class as an alternative, replacing it with […]
Dec
18
2023
18
2023
Daniel Mroz on “Energy”
Over the 30 years that Plum has been in business, we have made countless dear friends and estimable colleagues, most of whom we have never actually met in person. One of these is Daniel Mroz — theatre artist, martial artist, writer and a professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa. He […]
Nov
21
2023
21
2023
The Eagle Flies
We have a stack of new material to present over the next few weeks, but wanted to get this one posted without waiting to catalogue others. Sifu Benson Lee, senior student of Grandmaster Leung Shum in Eagle Claw Boxing, has released a stunning new volume specifically targeting Tactics and Applications for Self-Defense. Intended to highlight […]
Sep
4
2023
4
2023
Masters Write — (I’m Looking At You)!
You know how we tell you all the time to keep a martial notebook? How important that can be at every stage in your development? How happy you will be if you do? No? Well, it’s ok to repeat oneself when the suggestion is this important, but even better when we have something to back […]
Sep
4
2023
4
2023
Another Classic Returns: Grandmaster James Mitose on Self Defense in Kenpo
Although Plum, almost exclusively, represents books and videos on traditional Chinese martial arts, there are times when we bow or nod to important works from among our cousins; in this case, it is GM James Mitose’s classic treatise on Self-Defense techniques and theory, What Is Self Defense, that strongly influenced the development of Kenpo (often […]
Aug
30
2023
30
2023
Qigong: 10 Points for Body Control
A very long while back, we published a 30 minute video on 10 points for controlling the body in Qigong. Over the years, this was one of our most popular DVDs — it is simple, accessible, and provides solid information for any martial artist wanting to understand basic Qigong structure. The information is ageless, but […]
Aug
26
2023
26
2023
The Dao of Shipping
Daoist writings (and I liberally paraphrase here) teach us that ‘Nature is not kind.’ This does not mean that Nature is unkind; more like Nature is not a Disney movie. At Plum, we recognize a variation of this wisdom: ‘The post office is not kind.’ In all honesty, the vast majority of what we send […]
Aug
21
2023
21
2023
Yes, The Saber!
Another great weapons book, Black Tiger Claw Single Saber, from the prolific Paul Koh, this one on Tiger Claw’s Single saber. One of the many things we appreciate about Sifu Koh’s books is his emphasis on foundation as well as form and usage. A reader can easily learn and apply much from this text, even […]
Aug
10
2023
10
2023
A Martial Renaissance (再生 — Zaisheng): Xingyiquan, Taijiquan
There is a Renaissance going on in martial arts, and it is not purely physical. We are talking about the quantity of high-quality martial writing in English, which includes translations of Chinese origin. This unexpected level of cogency delights us. We are seeing the maturity of an art, along with the rooting of well-planted seeds […]
Jul
20
2023
20
2023
Phoenix Eye Fist
It is said, “All good things come to those who wait.” At Plum, this is not exactly our motto, but it is a part of our reputation for which we take particularl pride. It brings us great pleasure to seek out the treasures that have disappeared, as well as those that are just coming to […]
Jun
15
2023
15
2023
Tiger Claw’s Long Pole
Yet another excellent book from prolific writer and instructor Paul Koh, this one on the Tiger Claw Long Staff. Each of Sifu Koh’s books offer a step in the evolution and development of the Tiger Claw style he learned from Sifu Tak Wah Eng. Both have contributed a great deal to the modernizing and creation […]